1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to earth excavation and more particularly to an improved hand operated apparatus for laying an underground tubing or cable.
2. Prior Art
The present trend in the communication industry is to bury service wires such as telephone wires, fiber optic wires, television coaxial cables, electrical wires or the like. The burying of service wires is preferred over wires suspended from poles due to higher a service reliability and a concealment of the service wires.
Typically, a service wire is buried between a first and a second terminal or buried between a terminal and a building. Normally, the distance that the service wire is buried is a relatively short distance on the order of fifty feet to two hundred feet at a depth of only six to twelve inches.
The most common method of burying a service wire for a relatively short distance is through the use of a shovel and a small stick. The shovel is inserted into the ground and the shovel is tilted to create a narrow V-shape groove in the ground. Successive insertions and tilting of the shovel ultimately create a narrow V-shape groove between the desired points of connection. The small stick is used to push the service wire to the bottom of the narrow V-shape groove.
Although motorized trenching equipment is readily available in the art, the transportation and use of heavy and complex motorized trenching equipment is not practical when the service wire is buried a relatively short distance at a minimal depth.
Others in the prior art have attempted to provide simple, hand powered plows for creating trenches at a minimum depth for a relatively short distance. U.S. Pat. No. 18,551 to Moore discloses an excavator incorporating a rotatable wheel having shovels.
U.S. Pat. No. 298,223 to Milner discloses a ditching machine having a wheel mounted on a frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 404,301 to Powers discloses a ditching machine incorporating a rotatable wheel for excavating a trench.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,428,188 to Williams discloses a lever plow incorporating a lever for providing forward movement to the plow upon operation of the lever.
U S. Pat. No. 3,323,313 to Owens discloses a device for laying underground tubing and cable incorporating a freely rotatable coulter and a fixed cutting blade.
U S. Pat. No. 3,460,350 to Speiser et al discloses an irrigating apparatus having a plow blade and incorporating a pivotable operating handle connected to an arm for moving the apparatus over the ground.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,531 to Diefenthaler discloses a tile layer apparatus associated with a trenching machine.
U.S Pat. No. 4,825,569 to Porter discloses a trench digging apparatus for laying a cable and for filling the trench utilizing a motor powered rotating blade.
Although the foregoing device have contributed to the prior art, none of these device has solved the need for a simple, low cost and easily transportable device for laying an underground member.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for laying an underground tubing or cable having an operating handle for simultaneously cutting a trench, placing the tubing or cable within the trench and advancing the apparatus over the ground.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus for laying an underground tubing or cable that creates a narrow trench sufficient for burying a tubing or a cable with minimum disturbance to the sward.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus for laying an underground tubing or cable that is light weight and easily transportable by a sole operator.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus for laying an underground tubing or cable that is safe to operate by a sole operator.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus for laying an underground tubing or cable that is economical to purchase and maintain.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed as merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention with in the scope of the invention. Accordingly other objects in a full understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention, the detailed description describing the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.